Jeopardy
by Kenners
Summary: Haruno Sakura, the beautiful Head of Medicine seems to have her life in order until a certain Uchiha Sasuke shows up on her front door. Can the new "together" Sakura forgive him or will Sasuke's dark secret be the end of everything for them both?
1. Chapter 1 Left Behind

Sakura was sat in a squishy armchair stuck in the corner of the cheery coffee shop, she had her feet folded up underneath her and her hands were wrapped around a warm mug. She nuzzled into the soft cushions and sipped at the heavenly coffee she'd been craving for hours; it was 11 o'clock in the morning so by her calculations she had been working for thirty hours straight. It was always the same during times of political instability. Recently there had been a military coup in the Lightning Country that had forced Tsunade to move extra troops to the outlying border. Every time the outlying border was in jeopardy Sakura always found that she would be working for days at a time but Tsunade had reassured her that everything was under control. Before he left, Kakashi had assured her that it was merely protocol and that she shouldn't worry too much and though she had found his words reassuring to start with she was now working non-stop to treat all the patients that were returning injured from the border. The whole business had been going on for almost two weeks now and though the influx of patients had slowed she was still worried sick. Two letters off of Naruto and Kakashi was not enough to quell it either.

She looked up from her book and smiled at the woman brewing tea in the open kitchen; she let her eyes wander to the high street through the large French windows at the front of the café. Everyone outside was in the midst of the midday market bustle, smiling and laughing matrons with their customers, children running down the street, it was a calming image after a chaotic few hours. She laughed softly at the little children playing and looked down at her watch, Ino was late per usual. At that very moment the blonde bombshell burst through the door looking flabbergasted. Sakura raised an eyebrow at her and burst out laughing, she waved at Ino to grab her attention. Her blonde friend walked over and flopped down into the chair next to her,

"Long day?" Sakura asked with a light chuckle. Ino let out a sigh,

"Same as yours by the look of it," she said with a sad smile as she pushed hr fringe from her eyes.

"Yeah it's been a bit rough, but I got a message from Kakashi late last night and it seems that everything is fine," Sakura said leaning back into the chair. Ino sighed and waved over to the waitress,

"I've been hearing that phrase a lot lately, somehow I've lost faith in it," she said sadly. Sakura looked up from her latte; the tone in her best friend's voice was causing a little red flag to go up in Sakura's mind.

"Ino what's wrong?" Sakura said straightening out in the chair. Ino looked up and met Sakura's gaze,

"Chouji was… he was injured out at the border," she said calmly. Sakura let out a gasp and set her mug down quickly,

"Is he alright?" she asked.

"Yeah he's fine," she said and then looked up. "Did I just say fine?" she asked with a giggle in her voice. Sakura burst out laughing again which infectiously spread to her friend. She sighed and lay back in her chair,

"Oh this is not a time to be laughing," Ino said with a sad chuckle. Sakura picked up her mug again and pondered something,

"I'm a bit confused. I thought he was in surveillance," Sakura said.

"Yeah he was," Ino said as she rubbed her temples. "But he saw Kiba getting into a fight that seemed to be headed for the worst so he jumped in to try and help. He got the wrong end of a kunai…" he voice started to warble slightly as her sentence cut off. Sakura leant forward and laid a empathetic hand on hers, Ino looked up and smiled through her glassey eyes.

"The important thing is he's alive," Sakura said trying to be a pillar of strength for her but underneath she was crumbling just as she was. Ino rustled in her chair and looked down at her watch,

"Right my break is over, guess its back to the hospital," Ino said unenthusiastically. Sakura downed the remaining contents and stood up and stuffed her book back into her satchel.

"I'll walk you there," she said with a smile. "You never know Chouji might be back for recovery," she threw in casually and she saw her friends eyes light up in excitement. They emerged from the café after a quick goodbye to the waitress and walked along the highstreet.

"It's weird being the only ones here. Everybody else is out…there. Feels like a bit of a ghost town. I don't like it," Ino said incoherently.

"You get used to it after a while. Being left behind," Sakura assured her. Ino merely scoffed and muttered "Not likely under her breath." They walked through the hospital doors and up to the nurses' station where Ino scrubbed up. Sakura gave her a hug goodbye and heading back down the corridor towards Tsunade's office,

"Doctor Haruno," came a distressed voice from down the hall. Sakura turned around and saw several nurses hurrying down the corridor with a patient in a trolley. Sakura pulled her stethoscope out of her bag and hurried up to the side of the trolley.

"Condition?" Sakura asked seriously as she surveyed the clipboard that had just been handed to her.

"Severe lacerations to the head and arms. Unconscious for twenty minutes, ten milligrams of morphine," the paramedic rolled off quickly.

"Okay Recess Twelve is free, lets get him onto the cot," she said with a respectfully powerful voice.

"I think you mean her Doctor," a nurse corrected as she began to attach the drip. Sakura looked up and gazed down at the patient,

"Kurenai," escaped her dry lips. She looked down at her senior and friend lying broken in the cot, Yuhi-sensei was the one who taught her about advanced genjustsu before her ANBU exam and she had always seen her as a strong practically invincible woman. Now looking down at her black hair tangled with blood was horrible. Her pulse was weak and her breathing was shallow.

"Doctor?" came a reassuring voice as a soft hand rested on her shoulder. Sakura brought herself back down to earth and pulled herself back into doctor mode.

"I need suction and ten milligrams of diazepam."

She stood over her cot looking down at the results from her CAT-scan and compared them to her blood pressure read out, everything appeared normal and she had been stable now for three hours. Still unconscious thought but it was looking better. Suddenly there was a knock at the door as Sakura span round to see a familiar face, the door opened and he walked in and pulled her in for a slouched hug.

"Hi Shika," she said gently.

"Hey Sakura," he said with a tentativeness in his voice. He pulled away and looked over her shoulder to the dark woman in the bed. "How is she?"

"Much better. She's been stable for three hours and now she's just sleeping off the drugs we gave her," Sakura said comfortingly.

"That's a relief," he said as he walked over closer to the bed.

"So what are you doing here?" she asked trying not to be too judgemental. He couldn't have abandoned his post to come see her, Shikamaru was a level-headed and loyal shinobi but he was lead by his emotions and acted rashly sometimes.

"Don't worry I was ordered to accompany the second flight of injured back," he said, picking up on the hidden concern in her maternal voice.

"Sorry," she said as she ran her fingers through her hair. He turned to her and looked her straight in the eye.

"If she is stable does that mean I can bring Atsuya in?" he asked in a tone that said he was deadly serious.

"You brought him here?" Sakura said with surprise. He nodded solemnly and realised that he was out of line. Sakura walked over to the door and opened it calmly, she peered out of the door to see a nurse stood by the door holding the four year olds hand. Sakura smilled at the nurse and then knelt down in front of the young boy; she looked into his large red eyes and pushed his dark fringe out of their way.

"Hello Atsuya," she said gently. The little boy removed his thumb from his mouth and smiled at her.

"Hewwo Sakuwa," he said in an adorably sweet voice. She took his other hand and nodded up to the nurse who took this as her order to depart. Sakura looked back at him and squeezed his hand,

"Do you want to see Mummy?" she asked softly. He nodded as he put his finger back into his mouth and Sakura stood back up and lead him into the hospital room. They walked in and Shikamaru turned round to watch them, he smiled at Sakura and mouthed a "Thank you." She nodded and smiled back as Shikamaru reached out his hand which Atsuya ran to grab; Shikamaru lifted him up into his arms and held his close to his chest.

"What's wrong with Mummy Oni-san?" he said with a voice that was blissfully ignorant of the war.

"She's just a bit poorly," he said reassuringly.

"What does Mummy do when you're poorly Atsuya?" Sakura asked.

"She kisses it better," he said as he looked down at him mother. Sakura smiled sadly as his eyes looked over her covered in wires and tubes, it practically broke her heart.

"I'm certain that if you give Mummy a kiss she'll get better Atsuya," Sakura said as she pulled him down from Shika's hip. She lowered him onto the bed next to Kurenai. He leant down and gave her a cute kiss on her forehead, he turned round and let Sakura lift him off the bed. She set him down on the floor and ruffled his hair; she looked up at Shikamaru.

"You guys can stay as long as you like. Just don't let him press any buttons," she said as she winked at him. He chuckled and pulled her in for a hug.

"Thank you Sakura, I couldn't stand not being here," he said.

"I know it means a lot to you," she said. "I'll be back in later."

Sakura lay her head on the cold staff room table fifteen hours later, she could feel every muscle in her body screaming at her and her chakra was so incredibly low she felt like she didn't have enough energy to keep her eye lids open. She looked up at the clock that read 1:17, she calculated that it had been almost 48 hours without sleep and only a twenty minute break to refresh herself. The injured had come in hard and fast for the first ten hours and then began to slow down gradually; according to the accompanying captain there had a been a very sizable skirmish about twenty miles north of the border and a large number of ANBU had been surrounded. She heard quite a story about the Copy-nin and the Konoha Kyuubi managing to fight off fifty enemy ninja together with perfect teamwork, she was very proud of her boys.

She took a sip of the cold sludge that was passed off as coffee and looked down at it with disdain. She got up from the table with a pained moan and pulled on her long white medic coat as she walked back out of the staff room door. She walked down the corridor and stopped at each room to check on the patients. It was sheer will power driving her now, the idea that soon she would be in bed and get to drift off to sleep for at least eight hours straight for the first time in weeks. Everything seemed fine with her triage patients; the night nurses were readdressing their wounds and checking their vitals each time she went in. She was incredibly proud with how the staff operated, they ran a very efficient hospital. She reached the last room on the corridor and opened the door slowly and quietly; Kurenai was sound asleep and her heart beat and white blood cell out were much higher which was an encouraging sign. She turned around to find the boys dozing off in the chair, Shikamaru was leaning his head against the wall and Atsuya was cuddling into his chest, she wished her had a camera. She walked over to the arm chair they were occupying and bent down slightly.

"Shikamaru," she said as she shook him gently. He stirred slowly and she ceased and she placed her hand on his shoulder reassuringly. His eyes fluttered and opened to look up at Sakura in a daze, she smiled softly,

"How bout you take Atsuya back home with you? Put him to bed," she said kindly as she straightened out and looked back at the cot. He looked on also and stood up slowly,

"Yeah you're right," he said groggily. He rubbed his eyes as he walked around the side of the bed and delicately lifted the small child from the bed and held him against his chest. Sakura readjusted Kurenai's blankets and checked the monitor one last time; he looked over her shoulder trying to understand what information she was gaining from the machine. She turned back around and gave him a smile,

"How is she?" he asked with the same concerned tone he had had for three days, never wavering. The soft smile never left her face,

"She's fine now. Like I said she's just sleeping off the drugs we gave her to fight in infection in her thigh. She'll be awake by tomorrow," she said. A wave of relief seemed to wash over his face as he sighed softly. The little man stirred in his arms and they both looked down at him, Sakura placed her hand on his thick head of black hair. She loved watching him sleep peacefully, she could remember the day she helped deliver him and it never failed to bring a smile to her face. He was a beautiful child with the sharpest mind she had ever encountered; the most hilarious thing she had ever seen in her entire life was two fully grown Jounin men in the forms of Nara and Hyuuga fighting with a four year old in regards to the rules of Sho. It had been hard to watch him crawled up in the bed with his mother when she couldn't know he was there, but she was sure that Atsuya didn't mind. Sakura was sure that he knew that his mother felt him there and that in him being there she was given some form of strength. He was a bright child.

"Let's go home. All of us," Shikamaru said with a smile. Sakura hummed in response and followed him out of the room, she shut the light off as she left and gave Kurenai one last fleeting look. She walked out and ambled along side Shikamaru and laughing at his passing grunts and struggle,

"What does she feed this kid, rocks?" he said as he shifted him further up. Sakura laughed,

"No just dirt like other little boys. I had to give him the mud eating lecture the other day," she giggled at the memory. Shikamaru rolled his eyes,

"He's getting that off Chouji, eating anything," he noted. They passed the nurses' office and Sakura stopped,

"I've got to brief the night nurses and shut down the hospital for the night," she said.

"Oh okay we'll wait for you," he said as he shifted Atsuya further up onto his hip.

"No it's fine you two go on ahead," she smiled. He paused for a moment in hesitation but let out a yawn and realised how tired her was.

"Okay Sakura take care. We'll see you tomorrow," He said as he turned to go down the hall.

"Night night boys," she said as they walked away.


	2. Chapter 2 Much more to worry about

Switching off the final light on the ward Sakura turned round and walked into the staff room. She walked over to the coat rack and with a tired sigh grabbed her coat and scarf, preparing herself for the bitterly cold weather outside. She took a final look round the room surveying the solitude that she had become used to and she let out one final sigh,

"_When did I become the only person in the world without a life?" _

She picked up the book she had bought to read in the break that she never got to and placed it inside her bag lying on the table; she rummaged around in it and finally pulled out a small compact. She flipped it open and surveyed her face,

"_Bags," _she commented to herself and pressed her finger lightly on the raccoon circles under her tired looking eyes. After applying a small amount of powder she walked out of the staff room finally, hearing nothing but the solitary clicking of her shoes on the marble tilling.

She kept her hands clasped in her pockets as to guard them from the biting cold and although her toes were numb and her face stiff she had to admit she loved the cold; it was numbing and soothing. And although the cold brought along many more unpleasant things with it and in league with death, it was beautiful at this time of year; all things had a glisten and sheen that came with the frost and the possible snowfall. Sakura suddenly felt a cold fleck land on her cheek and she looked up slowly. As if by thinking about it she had the power to conjure up snow, heavenly snowflakes were beginning to cascade all around her. She let them fall on her face softly and she shut her eyes tentatively until her cheeks felt wet. She opened her eyes with a small smile as her eyes glistened and carried on walking down the Konoha high street.

She walked over a familiar red bridge, careful not to slip on the icy logs; she cast a glance down at the water that was slowly freezing over, she could no longer see her reflection in the dark ice. She walked on and felt her feet crunch under her boots; she loved that sound, the sound of freshly fallen snow crunch under her shoes, and it made a small smile spread across her face. She was amazed that something as simple as snow could make her smile so many times in one evening, she hadn't smiled in what felt like months. People, namely Tsunade had commented on that many times but this was the first time she had realised just how much she had missed it. She carried on walking, feeling the warm interior of her apartment call her to its welcoming comfort. She meandered off the high street through the alley that she had devised as a short cut and walked with a little extra urgency as she felt the tips of her fingers quickly loose all feeling. She walked hastily between the two buildings trying to avoid the dripping water from the gutters above; she pulled the collar of her coat up even further and trudged through the snow.

Suddenly she caught a glimpse of something, a person? Somebody standing in the alleyway ahead of her, standing in the shadow of her apartment building with their back to her. She stopped immediately, desperately trying to be allusive but the crunch of the snow gave her away. She could tell from his stature that he was a man and as he rounded to face her she let her eyes survey him. He was tall, dark, masked in what appeared to be a black travelling cloak and she couldn't see his face in the dark of the evening. All these foreboding qualities he had made her feel nervous and exposed, he certainly seemed to have a dangerous air about him. The man took a step towards her and she shot her hand down to her kunai holster strapped around her thigh. She whipped out a kunai and held it solidly in her hand preparing herself for his attack, she prepared herself mentally to attack but suddenly the man's face was illuminated as he walked into the light that spilled in from the high street. Her breath caught in her chest and her eyes widened, the only sound in the narrow alleyway was the clatter of a kunai on the wet ground, slicing through the snow. His face was angular and chiselled, his hair was dark and she could make out a tinge of blue, exposed by the street light. The sole feature of the mysterious man that jumped out at her was the onxy eyes tearing right through her. It was a face that she had once known well but it was changed and the old image of his face seemed now like a strange dream compared to what stood before her now.

"Sa…Sas..uke," she said under her breath. They stood silently for a small moment, she finding herself completely unable to move. He was just stood perfectly still and silent; all she could make out was the wisps of his breath that were visible in the cold.

"Sakura," he said. His voice was tense and weak; he stepped forward slowly and she could now see his face was blank. "I've… come back." He stepped towards her again but suddenly he stopped. She saw his body tremble, his face contort in pain and his eyes roll into the back of his head. He fell to the floor and collapsed into the snow; he remained perfectly still, as if dead. Sakura stood rooted to the spot trying to remember how to breathe; she was immobilised with shock, she could feel her skin ripple in fear, her breaths hitched. Suddenly a cold drop of water landed on her forehead and it awoke her from her trance. With a mix of fear and apprehension she took a tentative step in his direction. He lay in the snow unmoving and she took another small step towards him, he didn't even seem to be breathing. The medic within her overcame the fear and she ran to him and dropped to the floor next to him. She turned him over and could see he was breathing but it was shallow and laboured, his skin was freezing to the touch and his lips had a blue tinge. She took his limp arm and pulled it over her shoulder, she managed them both over the road and she shifted them both into her apartment effortlessly with a few quick hand signs.

Landing roughly on the hard wood floor she manoeuvred them through the living room into the spare bedroom; she laid him on the low futon and kneeled by the side of the bed. She moved her hand slowly towards the travelling cloak attached to him, it was soaking and frozen. She pulled it off him hastily and felt his shirt and pants, they were soaked through also. If she stayed in them any longer his heart would fail from hypothermia. She undid the tie on the lower half of his white wrapped shirt and pulled it away from his body with ease, his pants were even less troublesome to remove as they were slashed and fraying. They fell away in her hands as she touched them; fortunately his shorts and wrappings were fully dry as to save her the dilemma over whether to remove those also. She gasped at the sight of his body; there were scars carved savagely all along his torso, one running from his shoulder all the way to his left hip. There were several deep gashes along his arms and one through his abdomen that were still fresh and bleeding. She covered his lower half with the thick blanket and rubbed her hands together with her eyes closed. She took a deep breath and felt chakra fill her body and run through her arms and collect at her palms, she was digging deep to find any residual chakra left in her tired body. Her hands were enveloped with a pearly green glow and she moved them to Sasuke's chest; she paused them just above his heart and took another deep breath. She forced her hands down quick and hard, his body convulsed under her violently. She poured her chakra into him, running it down the network of vessels and allowing the chakra to seep through his muscles, skin and blood until it reached right through to his heart. She focused her chakra and infused it with a small amount of her own bodily heat which gave it a pink tinge. After some time she felt his skin thaw and his face slowly fill with some colour once again although he still pale. His lips remained a slight shade of blue which worried her but his breathing had settled and his hands were warm again. She straightened her back out and felt a relieving click, she sighed and then looked down and surveyed him, he was still unconscious but he seemed stable. He was suffering from hypothermia and exhaustion and without a doubt excruciating pain. She knelt back down and with another deep breath began to work on stopping the bleeding of the freshest wounds.

After another twenty minutes she had managed to stop the bleeding but her chakra was too low to fully seal the wounds, she would have to bandage them up until she had restored her chakra. She stood and walked out of the room with a backwards glance, she found herself checking he was actually there and that she hadn't hallucinated or fallen and hit her head on some ice. But he was lying in her guest's bedroom as sure as she had pink hair. She walked out and into the kitchen where she put on the kettle and prepared to make some tea.

As the kettle hissed in the background Sakura sat at her kitchen table and sat staring into space as one phrase repeated in her mind,

_Sasuke's back. _ It seemed to repeat in her head like an annoying dance song that you couldn't get out of your head. The high pitched shrill of steam escaping the kettle started Sakura from her daze; she got up quickly and unconsciously slipped back into "doctor mode." She walked over to the counter and got out a bowl with a cloth and filled it with freshly boiled water. She grabbed some antiseptic from under the sink and some bandages under her arm. She walked out of the kitchen and back into Sasuke's room; she saw him lying right where she had left him, still unconscious with his dark head lying lightly on her cushions. He seemed to sleeping peacefully though his obsidian eyes were clenched shut. She walked back over to him, gently stepping on the wooden floor trying not to wake him with the sounds of her footsteps; she placed the bowl on the floor by her and dipped the soft cloth into the warm water and then wrung it out. She folded it over and lay it on his brow after sweeping the bangs from his eyes; the contact stirred him gently and he cracked his eyes open slightly. She looked down at him as he slowly regained his consciousness and she tried to gauge his condition. He blinked slowly and then tried to move his neck tentatively so that he could try and grasp his location.

"Where?" he asked, his voice still sounding weak and husky.

"My apartment," she said simply with as calm a tone as she could muster while she removed the towel to re-warm it once again. She placed it in the water and began to wring it out when she saw him shifting as if trying to sit up. She rushed forward and placed her palm on his bare chest,

"You're not strong enough yet," she said, her voice had a small resonance of annoyance. She had expected him to put up a bit of a fight to treatment like most of her shinobi patients but he was delusional if he thought he was fit enough to walk out now. She was obviously right as he had not sat up even an inch before he fell back again. Sakura felt wetness on her hand and looked down to see her palm stained red, she looked at his chest and surely enough blood was seeping from his wound. She looked at his face and saw his eyes flutter and then open again but only halfway. He looked up at the white ceiling and spoke quietly with a cracking voice; Sakura could only make out the odd word.

"Can't….stay….put…jeop…ardy," were the only ones she could hear properly. She laid her hand on his exposed shoulder soothingly. She held her crimson hand up in front of his face,

"You're wounds are not fully healed yet. For now you need to rest," she said in a soft but clinical voice that one couldn't disobey. Sasuke made a semi-conscious gesture like a nod before his eyes closed and his breathing slowed into a regular rhythm. She reapplied the warm compress and monitored his breathing, she checked his pulse which was still faint but improving. She got back up and shut the blinds in the room.


	3. Chapter 3 Danger of Doubt

This chapter is dedicated the nanamisakurachan. I had really nowhere to go with this story but when your review came in I was suddenly inspired and the whole plot came flooding to me. So thanks for helping me get over my writter's block! This chaps for you :D Hope you like it XX

* * *

Sakura looked out of the window at the moon rising up over Konoha giving everything a silver sheen in the winter frost, it illuminated everything and made all the little details seem so clear. She shut the blinds quickly and shut out the rest of the world from the small soap opera that seemed to be evolving in her bedroom. She turned around and knelt back down to her position next to the patient, she lay her hand against his chest and could feel his heart beating stronger and a tiny bit faster. She removed it and rubbed her eyes, she now admitted that she was in fact exhausted. Her head and eyelids felt heavy as well as all her other limbs and she knew that she couldn't keep herself up straight very much longer. She moved to pick herself up but she just couldn't; she dropped her head onto the soft, welcoming duvet and felt herself drift off.

Bang! Sasuke rolled over in his sleep and pulled the duvet out from under her, her head dropped down and her forehead smashed against the wooden bed frame.

"SHIT!" she cursed in a hushed voice. She shot her hand up to her forehead and rubbed it in a frustration. She looked down at her "patient" and could help but let out a frustrated sigh in an attempt to hold back her anger. She got up, straightened out her skirt and walked through to the living room and collapsed on to the sofa. She ran her fingers through her hair and sighed loudly. Her mind was buzzing but then again she should have expected that, she hadn't had a millisecond to really comprehend what was going on around her. An ex-team mate was lying in her bedroom as she had already found but what she hadn't really come to realise was that he was still a missing ninja and an S class criminal. Just stepping back into Konoha was precedence for execution so she couldn't bare to think of the consequences for both of them if she harboured him for much longer. She leant forward and leant her elbows on her knees whilst supporting her head in her hands. She gently rubbed her temples and felt fatigue wash over her. She turned the TV onto the medical documentary she had recorded before she left for work and sprawled out across her sofa. She didn't catch a single word of the programme; she had fallen into an impenetrable sleep within a matter of seconds.

* * *

The harsh glare of sunlight streaming through the lounge windows caused her to moan and throw her hand up at her eyes to block the light. She grabbed a pillow and pressed it up to her face, she resisted the urge to yell into it in frustration. Why was a decent night's sleep always denied to her?

"I see you're as pleasant in the mornings as always," came a cool voice from across the room. Sakura's breath hitched in her chest, he had scarred the crap out of her. In those few blissful moments when you wake up when you are barely conscious all the worries of your life dissipate. So naturally Sakura had completely forgotten about her midnight encounter with the Uchiha and how she had dragged him home with her. She sat bolt upright and turned round sharply to see him standing in her bedroom doorway. He was slouched against the doorframe with a sarcastic smile gracing his angular features. He was still bare-chested, wrapped up in bloody bandages but he had put back on his tattered bottoms. Sakura looked him up and down several times just to make sure that he was really there. He caught her starring and looked down on her focusing his eyes on hers, he locked in on them finally gaining her attention. They both starred at each other for a moment, her emerald almons shaped eyes captivated by his deep onyx orbs. It was enough to make her feel slighty woozy. She shook herself from her daze and averted her eyes to anywhere that wasn't at him. Sakura felt shaken, around Konoha she was known as a cool but friendly kunoichi who was in control of her emotions. But one look from the Uchiha could shatter that exterior, she gave herself a mental slap and reapplied her cool demeanour. Then finally she looked up at him and leant back into the sofa again.

"So you going to tell me what you're doing here?" she said flatly. She looked straight at him hoping that he would give her a proper answer but he merely shifted further up the doorframe and broke her gaze. Sakura sighed again; it was seeming to become a regular occurrence. She stood up and walked over to him so that she was at least a few feet away, she felt less safe around him now. The other day he had been so obviously frail that she saw him as no threat but now his usual bravado had returned and she felt more exposed.

"It's only been a few hours…" Sakura said simply. "You need more rest." Sasuke looked at her with a critical expression.

"What!?" she bit at him.

"It's Wednesday. You slept for twenty four hours," he said in a stoic tone, not rising to her hostility. Sakura looked at him questioningly and looked down at her watch. He was right, the date read _Wed Dec 15__th _. She had in fact slept an entire day away, not that the hospital would be missing her, she didn't have another shift until Thursday thankfully. She looked up at him but the smirk had not managed to creep its way back across his face. His face was cold and very serious but she was used to this. It hardly phased her anymore, hardly. She swept past him into her bedroom and knelt back down next to the bed. She looked at him and motioned for him to lie back down. He gave her a sceptical look but he gave in when he saw her fist curl up. He lay down tentatively whilst trying to hide his discomfort to her. He heard her mumble something about how it was the least he could do to let her examine him. Sakura reached out her hand and placed it softly on his upper abdomen; Sasuke flinched at the contact, even through the bandages. This did not go unnoticed by Sakura and she trailed her hand down progressively adding a little more pressure. Only when he audibly gasped did she look up at him with a very _I told you so _look. She reached round his side and undid the knot in the bandages which she then began to unwrap. The silence between them was deafening but neither of them had anything that would make it less awkward so they both assumed it would be wise to not speak at all. Finally after carefully unwrapping the blood-soaked bandages did she expose his marred skin. The wound on his abdomen was incredibly deep but equally incredible was the fact that it had not stopped bleeding. Sakura reached under the bed to grab the medical kit she had left there earlier and grabbed a small jar of home-made antiseptic and began spreading it along the length of his gash, earning a sharp hiss from her patient. She looked up at him and tried to catch his eye but he was already looking down on her, watching her at tentatively.

"You need stitches," she said simply. He looked down on her and she felt herself shiver slightly.

"Hnn." was his only response and he looked up at the ceiling as if bracing himself. Sakura starred up at him and shook her head a little.

"No you don't get it. You need to go to the hospital," she said urgently. It was at this comment that Sasuke finally clicked and he snapped his head back down at her.

"No!" he said firmly. She furrowed her brow and he leant his head back against the head board. "No hospitals."

"Sasuke, this needs stitches. We can't leave it open like this, it'll turn sceptic," she said leaving out the bit on the end giving away the eventual result of septicaemia - death. She began to stand up but he grabbed her wrist forcefully, pinning her in place. She glared at him with anger and misunderstanding but he starred her down, his onyx eyes were piercing her own which sent another unpleasant chill down her spine. Sakura stood up slowly as to not threaten him and walked over to her chest of drawers and rummaged amongst her drawers pulling out a fresh pair of grey jogging bottoms and a black t-shirt. She tried to covertly go into her underwear draw, fully aware that he was watching. She placed them on the window sill and then walked over to her wardrobe. She pulled out a pair of dark Jounin trousers that were obviously far too large for her and a long white shirt that she could have wrapped around her twice. She threw them on to the foot of the bed behind her and then after picking up her clothes from the window exited the room swiftly. He watched with amusement as she busied herself around the room, trying to avoid his gaze. He watched her swan past him and saw her glide down the hall and enter the bathroom.

Now that she was gone he could grab a moment to take in his surroundings, her apartment was small but cosy by his standards. Much to Sakura's taste, the rooms were filled with small pieces of art and little trinkets she had collected from her various missions, the one that stood out the most was the oddly shaped shuriken hanging above the small fire place in her living room. He also had it on good authority that there was a very valuable katana hanging above her front doorway although he had failed to see it as he was dragged in. He could hear the sound of running water and steam was trickling out from under the bathroom door. Sasuke shifted off the bed carefully and despite a few stabs of pain he was able to stand upright and walk through to the communal area. Her large living room led on to the kitchen, the bathroom and what looked like an airing cupboard further down the hall. He walked through the living room and lowered the blinds quickly and then after locking the front door and the windows the apartment was completely closed off to the outside world. He sighed and leant his head against the cold wood of her door, he pressed his hand against his stomach and looked down. The edges of his hands were blurred but through his skewed vision he could still make out the red stain that spread across his palm. He sighed again, despite the full days rest he was still feeling drained. That residual weakness coupled with his injury made it impossible for his plan of leaving as soon as possible to succeed. He'd have to think of another plan and quick. He turned around and rested his weight against the door in order to keep himself up straight. He had to retain his strength so that when Sakura came back he wouldn't have to show her his pain. He limped into the kitchen and sank into one of her comfortable 50's diner seats sat around the table in the middle of the kitchen. He leant back and closed his eyes trying to focus his chakra into his optical highway so that he could hopefully remove some of the fuzziness. He always felt vulnerable if they were not working 100. And vulnerable was not something an Uchiha was comfortable with or used to feeling.

Sakura emerged from the bathroom to a very dark apartment, she walked through to the living room to find that all the blinds had been shut tight so that the morning light was undetectable. She walked over to the window quickly toweling off her hair and tried to pull up the blinds but the chord was tangled at the very top. She reached under the slides and tried to pull up the window but she found it was stubbornly locked. She never locked her windows. She felt a pair of eyes on her back and a tingle down her spine, she turned around quickly but when there was nobody there she shivered again. Her heart was beating a little faster now and she could feel her breathing speed up also. She walked over to her bedroom door tentatively and peered into the room, there was no Sasuke on the bed and she began to feel a little nervous. She tiptoed through the hallway and stopped before she crossed the threshold of kitchen as it was the only place left for him to be. Sakura took a deep breath and dashed across the open archway and pressed herself against the front door. She quickly reached down and tried to turn the doorknob but she found the door locked. Not how she had left it before. She felt adrenaline pumping through her and it was starting to make her feel slightly nauseous. Suddenly she heard the screech of one of the kitchen chairs scratch against the floor. She quickly reached up and tried to turn the lock but it was just as stubborn as the windows. In a panic she reached up high to the top of the door frame and while grasping the sleek sheath, she steeled her nerves.

Sasuke heard the sound of soft foot steps on the hardwood flooring announcing Sakura's departure from the bathroom. He opened his eyes quickly to see flash across the open kitchen archway that lead to the front door.

"Oh crap," he cursed under his breath. He stood up quickly and tried to hurry to the front door to stop her from fleeing but he was stopped the moment he crossed the kitchen door threshold. The sleek blade of a katana was poised right in front of his throat, the cold steel only just grazing his skin but still earning a few drops of blood.

"Sakura," Sasuke said in a raspy voice. Sakura glared at him with a steely resolve showing him she was perfectly serious. She made a quick side motion with her head and barked "Back," at him. He slowly walked backwards until he was pressed up against the kitchen table. Sakura stood at arms length with the katana resting just below his chin. He could feel the smoothness of its steel on his chin and he starred down the blade at her. They stood for a moment in their stale mate, neither one of them willing to break eye-contact for even a second. Sakura's chest was heaving but her hand was perfectly steady, being a seasoned professional she knew perfectly how to handle this weapon. Her ANBU training had also taught her how to quell her emotions so that she could expose no weaknesses but this time it was harder. It was always harder with him. He slowly raised both his arms so that both palms were exposed to her.

"I'm not here to hurt you," he said. Sakura gripped the sword's handle even harder.

"Then why are you here?" she growled. Her eyes narrowed, she was not going to underestimate him now that he was capable of moving. Despite the fact that he was in essence a familiar face and a comrade he had also shown no restraint or remorse in the idea of killing Naruto and herself when they had met only a few years ago. Since that day she had been evaluating whether or not Sasuke was now an enemy. Though she still had no concrete answer she would not make the mistake of thinking that he would not hurt her if given the chance. But then he said something that was unexpected,

"I need your help," he said. Sakura regarded him for a moment and then her eyes were drawn to his hand which was tinted with dark blood which was also seeping through his bandages. Sakura took a step back and lowered the katana, but did not place in back into its sheath either. They stood in silence for another moment that seemed to stretch out into forever, Sakura not once taking her eyes away from his, frightened that at any point they would start spinning red. But suddenly Sasuke swayed a little and his eye lids drooped. Sakura raised the katana again slightly but suddenly realised that something was wrong with him. Suddenly his legs gave way and he crumpled to the floor. Sakura dropped the katana and rushed forward, catching before he hit the floor. He fell against her shoulder and Sakura held him to her tightly for fear of dropping him. Slowly she knelt down to the floor and allowed him to collapse into her lap. The only sound that escaped the apartment for the next few hours were the pitter patter of water beading off her hair onto the wooden floor.


	4. Chapter 4 Strangely comforting

Sakura rested her head against the hard wooden surface of her kitchen cupboards, she had her eyes closed but she could sense every movement in the room. Sasuke was opposite her mirroring her posture almost exactly except his slouch was more relaxed. She had cradled him in her lap for almost three hours while she gave his chakra infusions periodically to reduce his bleeding; now his breathing was again calm and regular. The katana was lying on the floor next to her, fully sheathed but at hand. Sakura felt like her insides were twisted up into a giant tangled mess and if she had allowed herself she would have, without a shadow of a doubt, cried herself to sleep. But that seemed useless to her, why should she cry? Her single most desired thing in the world had happened, Sasuke had come home. But if that was true then why wasn't she happy? Why was her first reaction to feel threatened and arm herself? Her inner self reasoned that maybe it was the surprise he gave her by just showing up at her doorstep or his silent manner but she was nervous as hell to be around him. Every time he moved in his sleep she twitched for her katana and then laughed at herself for being so afraid of an unconscious man. When he finally came round she didn't reach for the weapon but instead tried to muster a smile.

Sasuke lifted his lids slightly but he found the effort too much and he shut them again. Only after a moment of pooling some residual strength did he try to move his muscles, all of which twinged after the slightest contraction. Suddenly he felt a soothingly smooth hand place on his forearm, the heat from her skin radiating through him. Then he felt her place her hand on his forehead and he felt the refreshing tingle of chakra run through is body from her skilled fingers, through his closed eyes he could see the green hue that surrounding her hands. He felt the tension from all his muscles just slip away and his who body felt less heavy. He opened his eyes slowly, experimenting with the newly found strength she had given back to him. Her bright sea-green eyes were the first thing he saw, a gentle smile gracing her face. She moved her hands away from his face and pressed them to his abdomen to which he flinched slightly. She focused on closing the wound that he had torn open again trying to secure the apartment, with each passing second he felt the stabbing pain wane more and more.

"Sasuke," her voice floated up to his ears. He looked down at her but her eyes were focused on her work, never meeting his own. "I want to believe you're not dangerous," she said sincerely. He let out a short chuckle and smiled weakly,

"I'm not here to hurt you Sakura," he said as he rested his head against the kitchen wall.

"I believe that. If you had wanted to you would have already," she said honestly. He hnnned in response and then they let a comfortable silence fill the void between them as she continued to heal him expertly. When she was finished she allowed the chakra slip away from her hands and she let out a tired sigh. She turned to look up at Sasuke only to find that he was looking down at her; his eyes were blood red and followed each of her movements hauntingly. His stare sent a shiver down her spine but she could never look away.

"I'm sorry," he said turning his head back as he deactivated his sharingan. "Just trying to copy the healing technique." When he turned back through Sakura's eyes were boring right into him, her expression a mix of confident defiance and fearful apprehension.

"Why did you seal us in here?" Sakura asked with trepidation, her voice was hesitant and quiet. His breath stuck in his chest and he remained very still for a few moments, not expecting her to ask him that just yet. Eventually he sighed heavily and pulled up one of his knees to his chest to rest his elbow on.

"It's complicated," he said cryptically. Sakura bowed her head slightly and resigned herself to that answer for now. She slowly got to her feet and walked across the kitchen to the sink and began to busy herself about with mugs and tea bags. She filled the kettle and ran a tired hand through her hair. The past few days had been long and a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. Moving from suprise, to confusion, to fear all in a few instants was wearing and now with him being all Uchiha mysterious, Sakura felt mentally drained. Suddenly she sensed Sasuke behind her, the heat of his body pressed up against her back as he stood less than a few centimetres away. He was looking over her shoulder down at the tea cups below her paused hands,

"I take mine with..." he started but she cut over him.

"Milk and no sugar," she recited. "I remember." Sasuke allowed himself a small smile over the fact that she could remember snippets about him from so long ago. It shouldn't have been suprising as the younger Haruno Sakura was obsessed with him. However this Sakura stood in front of him was very different, she masked her emotions better than before. She seemed stronger than before too, both emotionally and physically. To carry him into the house on her own showed strength. But what surprised him the most was the medical jutsu. How did Sakrua know that? He hadn't seen her in years and he naturally assumed she would have improved a little bit but he had expected her to be just an average kunoichi. She never showed any spectacular promise, so how in hell had she turned into such a dynamic shinobi. He smiled again, happy that she had managed to surpass even his low expectations. Suddenly he realised that he was practically pressed up against her and he hurried to take a step back but as he did Sakura span around and pulled him into her. Her arms quickly wrapped around his back and she held him to her. Her arms were tight and stiff, the hug felt tense and contrived. Her head came to his shoulder but she did not place it there. Sasuke's arms fell at his sides in shock until he felt Sakura shudder slightly underneath him, trying desperately to mask her emotions. Sasuke gently pulled himself out of her embrace and took a step back, her face looked hurt and embarrassed for her outburst. Then Sasuke came in towards her again and wrapped his arms around her waist, securing and holding her to him expertly. He moved one of his hands to her hair and began to stroke it softly, Sakura rested her heavy head lightly on his shoulder and began to cry silently. Sasuke rest his chin on the top of her head and held them there for a moment. The whole action seemed very strange to him, like some foreign custom. Intimacy never really suited him but something in him tweaked into place when she took a hold of him. A tender side he never knew he had suddenly took charge, knowing exactly what she needed. Sasuke slowly felt his shoulder dampen and he felt her body hitch.

Sakura couldn't believe she was doing this, she was falling back to the very thing she had sworn she would never do in front of him again. She was crying! Crying like the little girl she used to be. She reprimanded herself for not keeping the professional womanly exterior she had worked so hard to make for herself, but this self-deprication only made her cry harder. When she felt Sasuke's warmth against her back it finally sunk in that this was real. This wasn't some strange twisted fantasy her subconscious punished her with every now and again. The heat of his body against hers was all hers, he was back and it was too much to take in all at once. So when he pulled away, threatening to take away that comfort, she wrenched it back again, refusing to let the reverie end. When he then hugged her back, she felt her hardened exterior crumble away into nothingness. She let out a small smile as tears fell down her face, she reached a hand up to her eyes and tried to wipe away the tears in the hope that he wouldn't notice. But the Uchiha noticed everything. Her body hitched again and slowly Sasuke began to sit them both down on the floor again. He rested his back against the cupboards once more and Sakura fell in suit, resting her head against his shoulder still. His arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her into him.

"I'm sorry," Sakura said quietly. Sasuke turned to look at her but her eyes were closed serenely, the beads of tears glistening on her face. Sasuke sighed,

"You shouldn't be," he said calmly. Sakura nodded in understanding and took a deep breath trying to steady her nerves shaken from crying. She opened her eyes slowly and wiped away the remaining tears with the back of her hand. She sat up slowly and lifted herself from his comfortable shoulder. She rested her head against the wooden cupboards and starred up at the ceiling. She ventured a small look across at Sasuke who was doing the same as her, starring blankly at the white ceiling tiles. She took a deep breath and stood up to finish off the tea she had started before. She sat back down a few moments later after handing Sasuke his mug, she settled back down next to him and pulled her knees up to her chest, Sasuke's other arm resting lonely by his side. Sakura took a long sip and sighed satisfyingly. She then rested her mug on the floor next to her and then she turned to Sasuke. He noticed her intent and moved slightly so that she was looking at him dead in the face.

"I want fair warning if you're leaving again," she said with a smile on her face, trying to make the conversation a little more jovial. Sasuke however didn't smile back; he turned his to her with a sad expression. Sakura's smile faded quickly and she turned back, her eyes cast back down at the floor tiles.

"Guess it's too early to be joking then," she mumbled with an awkward smile. Sasuke hnned in agreement before standing up slowly. Sakura's eyes followed him as he walked into the bedroom and shut the door behind him. Sakura suddenly felt cold so she picked up her tea and sipped at it quietly.

What a strange turn of events! She'd never expected this to happen.


	5. Chapter 5 Deprivation Hallucination

I would like to apologise for the cataclysmic amount of time it has taken me to get writting again. I thank everyone for having the patience to wait, especially people on the alert list and everyone who reviews. Special thanks to emptyspaces who always writes such encouraging reviews! Reviews keep me going in the dark weary hours. So this chapter is short as it is a very long chapter split in two. Unbetad so sorry for any mistakes

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto (if I did Genma and Kakashi would be love slaves to a vixen of a kunoichi names Kenners)

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Sakura had an irremovable smile on her face, a sad, sombre smile that she could not remove despite her best try. She laughed quietly and cast a confused d glance at her bedroom door. She didn't quite know what move to make now; go into her bedroom with him or just pretend he wasn't here. What the hell was he doing anyway? He had seemed to get up and leave very briskly, and after her emotional outbreak and idiotic comment she felt very exposed. Sakura had worked for a very long time piecing together who she was a person and a kunoichi and she was proud of the results. He did however seem to be the only chink in her armour, the only spot where she could be hit with a feather and everything would come tumbling down. That moment a minute ago was a testament to that. She thought back to that momentary lapse of control and smiled again. She wasn't going to analyse why he had hugged her back or why it hadn't felt the way she expected. She just decided that this was the way things were.

"B_ut he didn't have to be obnoxious!!" _her inner voice pointed out inside her head. Sakura had to agree with the concerning voices, his departure was impromptu and she starred quizzically at the sealed bedroom door. Sakura lifted herself up off the floor and dusted herself off as she placed the mug on the side. She walked tentatively over to her bedroom door, she lifted her hand to knock on the door. She couldn't help but feel a bit outraged that she now had to knock on her own door. So instead she steeled her nerves and opened the door swiftly. Sakura looked around the room with no Sasuke in sight, he was not passed out on the bed as she had expected or rummaging through her belongings like Naruto did. The gentle wafting of her curtains caught her attention, her window was fully open and the breeze was causing the curtain to dance and the blinds were now open again through the force of the breeze. And suddenly it clicked! The empty room registered to Sakura in an instant and she laughed out loud, clapping a hand over her forehead; he had already left! And if she was honest with herself, she wasn't at all surprised. Sasuke Uchiha was nothing if not efficient. Get what was needed, in the form of a quick patch up and then leave. To her he was like a phantom, so much so that she wondered whether he had ever been there at all. Maybe she had dreamed it all, she had been under a lot of stress lately and there were lists of medical explanations running through her head to rationalise it. Sleep deprivation, caffeine overdose induced by the sleep deprivation. She had no reason to believe she was crazy, well crazier.

Tired of thinking Sakura stepped forward, fully intent of collapsing into bed and prescribing herself a healthy dose of shut eye. Suddenly she felt a strong arm wrap around her waist and pull her back roughly while a hand clamped tight to her mouth. She was pulled back quickly until she felt the sharp stop as they were pushed up against the door. She gasped into the hand capturing her and looked back to see Sasuke's scanning the room, his sharingan spinning hypnotically. Captivated suddenly by the sharingan's hypnotic power was scintillatingly numbing. Suddenly his eyes snapped down to lock right with hers, Sakura physically felt her eyes widen. He leant down until Sakura could feel his breath across her ear.

"Someone's been in here," he said darkly.

Sakura head snapped back to look at the room, trying to see what he was looking for. She felt his body was stiff behind her and she felt suddenly nervous. The idea of someone invading her personal space sent a shiver down her. Suddenly the air in the room became stagnant and close even with the breeze from the window, making it hard to breath. Suddenly she saw a flash in that direction and she snapped her head round to see a small crow perched on the window sill. It was no larger than her fist, too small for a crow, maybe a raven, its head darting to look around the room. Suddenly its eyes locked in on them pressed against the door. Its obsidian eyes glared right at Sakura and suddenly flashed a horrific shade of yellow it made her flinch in reaction. Then everything went black as she felt a sharp pressure on her neck as Sasuke's finger pressed down into her pressure point. She slipped away into unconsciousness and Sasuke held her against him while he performed his jutsu perfectly, despite his lack of chakra.

Sasuke turned his attentions to the intruder and half a second later the crow suddenly convulsed and instead of dying instantly as it should it simply disappeared in a puff of smoke. Sasuke paused for a moment to wait for a possible retaliation but nothing came. So he quickly scooped Sakura into his arms and moved her into the living room where he lay her on the couch to sleep off the procedure he had had to do to her, again. He knew he would pay for that in a few hours time but it was necessary. He lowered her gently down and positioned her head so that it was comfortably on the arm rest. Then he returned to the bedroom window and jumped out onto the roof in the blink of an eye.


	6. Chapter 6 Juvenile Differences

Disclosure: I don't own Naruto. If I did I would take the profits and build a cloning machine to create myself a legion of Sasukes! HEHE

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Sakura began to stir and groggily she reached her arm around to rub her sore neck, the bruise under the necessary pressure painfully resting on the sofa's arm rest. Sakura lifted herself up to sit when she noticed a blanket draped over her, the one that usually lay on the base of her bed. She looked around her to gauge where she was and then to scan the apartment for any intruders, known or unknown as the case may be. She knew He wasn't in the apartment in an instant. She bawled her fists in anger and she felt her nails dig in to her own skin uncomfortably. He'd done it again! Used the same tired trick of knocking her out and throwing her away like a rag doll. All the twelve year old emotions of hurt, betrayal and rejection came flooding back, rushing back after years of being locked away. And to top it all off he had left. AGAIN! She's been through this only, well she didn't know how many hours earlier. Damn him for knocking her out and giving her no sense of time! She looked down at the blanket disgustedly and discarded it on the floor, the idea that he had touched it made it repulsive to her now. She stood up quickly and walked through to her bedroom and over to the windowsill. She lay her hand on the very spot the bird had been pearched and then tried to dislodged the window with no avail, it had been resealed by jutsu obviously. She huffed with irritation and turned around sharply, but she instantaneously banged into something very solid and surprisingly warm. In her shock she began to stumble back but he caught her by her wrists and held her fast. Sakura looked up at whoever was holding her and saw the same haunting onyx eyes starring back down at her. Sakura scowled at him, wrenched her hands out of his grip and roughly barged past him into the living room. She stormed across the open room and down the corridor into the bathroom. Sasuke watched her silent tyraid and rolled his eyes, he knew exactly what was coming.

Sakura rounded into the bathroom and squared herself in front of the large mirror. She made a show of pulling her hair away from her neck to reveal something large and purple, a well formed bruise about the size of a thumb. Sakura growled audibly and cast an angry glance to the man slouched against the bathroom doorframe surveying her. She enveloped her hands in the familiar green hue and began removing the mark irritably. She toyed with keeping it on her skin as a reminder of why she should be pissed with him. She could be pissed for an actual tangible reason instead of the general feeling she had right now. Rage and annoyance seemed to be the only emotions she was comfortable with feeling around him at the moment. She felt considerably shaken from her outburst earlier so she decided to cover it, all be it in a juvenile manner, with anger. However Sakura thought she was bigger than that and in a matter of seconds the mar has been erased. Sakura tied her hair up sloppily in her irritation and ran some cold water into the sink intending to wash her face. However the supervision she was really starting to grate on her.

"What?" she growled rounding on him and placing her hands on her hips begrudgingly. Sasuke shrugged and turned away, but did not leave. Sakura rolled her eyes and started to freshen up. Once she had washed her face and subtly applied some antiperspirant she turned and flounced out of the bathroom.

"Feel free to drown in the tub," she chided as she walked past him. She skulked down the corridor and slammed the door to her bedroom and she entered. Sasuke sighed and ran his ragged hand through his hair. This was going to be more difficult than he had thought. He walked into the bathroom and shut the door quietly before turning on the shower and letting the warm water wash away his tension, for the most part.

Sakura was pacing in her bedroom, back and forth at a pace that would ware down the hard wood floors. She was still fuming about the dirty trick he had played her but now her mind was occupied with the matter at hand. Someone had infiltrated her personal home and Sakura had a horrible feeling like she had been invaded. If her attention had not been taken with a fleeting blast from the past she would have been able to sense the intruder and deal with it accordingly. But now she had no leads or evidence and she felt vulnerable, something she had not felt in years. It was decidedly uncomfortable. Then she heard the door handle turn and she span to see who was coming in (even though there was only one eventuality as to who it was.) Sasuke walked into her bedroom wrapped in nothing but a towel, catching Sakura completely off guard. He looked at her as he entered, measuring her up no doubt. She could feel the blush spread across her cheek embarrassingly but she starred him down all the same. She swallowed hard and shook her head in order to regain a bit of herself.

"I put those clothes on the bed for a reason," she said glancing at the men's clothes she had left for him which he had stubbornly refused to wear.

"They're not yours," he said simply. Sakura raised an eyebrow at him and shook her head as she floated over and scooped them off the bed. She looked down at the clothes that were obviously too large for her; of course they weren't hers! Then his cryptic meaning clicked, he knew they were men's clothes but was assuming their origin. Peering into her social life, he assumed they were the remnants of a male caller's visit perhaps. Sakura was tempted to laugh at him but decided to make a point out of his ignorance.

"You didn't expect me to stay alone did you?" she said rhetorically. Sasuke didn't respond with a quip or a derogatory remark like she expected, instead he seemed to flinch slightly, but only slightly. Within a nanosecond any emotion that had betrayed him was in check again, like it never happened. Sakura rolled her eyes and threw them at him, they hit the back of his head with a satisfying whip.

"You can't wear your rags forever. These are brand new. Naruto bought them over last week," she stated simply and turned in order for him to change. She walked over to her wardrobe and pulled open the door so that she could also change behind it, after thirty hours in the same clothes it was becoming necessary. She had to forego a change of underwear sadly but having a new shirt on felt fantastic. She stepped out and Sasuke was sitting on her bed, his back to her and his head cast down to the floor, looking pensive. Sakura arched an eyebrow at his uncharacteristic display of vulnerability. She shut the door of her wardrobe loudly, hoping it would pull him from his reverie but to no avail. He didn't move an inch.

"You've changed," he said simply, his voice slicing through the space between them.

"You've said that already," she said, trying to sound annoyed but it didn't quite come across. She was too busy trying not to sound stunned by his sudden affirmation of her. He had hardly ever commented on her directly and she found it unnerving.

"I expected..." he said, trailing off in thought rather than saying it out loud. Sakura however knew exactly what he had expected and voiced it perfectly.

"You expected me to be here with open arms, ready to welcome home a beloved team mate. You expected a love sick teenager full of undue admiration, still too weak to measure up. Right?" Sakura said with antagonism in her voice. Sasuke turned his head round to look at her, his eyes torn and a picture of remorse. Sakura took a step back in suprise, the look in his eyes knocked the breath right out of her. She felt her anger dissipate irrationally, she should be angry, that's what Uchiha Sasuke deserved. But somehow this Sasuke didn't seem like that man, he seemed like someone else. Even with his stoic exterior, he let some eerily human emotions slip into his eyes. Against her better judgement Sakura let her feet carry her around the bed and sit next to him, still with some distance between them. They sat for a moment in silence, getting accustom to the proximity, Sakura felt out of control of her breathing and she was starring down at the floor while twiddling her fingers in a very Hinata-like fashion.

"I meant what I said in the kitchen, I want to, deep down, believe you're not here to hurt me," Sakura said, as if talking to herself. The vision of the crow sitting on the windowsill came to mind. She turned to face him as if her make her point more strongly. "But, you have to tell me the truth. What's going on and why are you here?" Sasuke watched her speak as if waiting for her judgement. She sighed and readied herself for what she was about to say, conscious that once she said it there was no going back.

"I'll stop acting juvenile. You deserve all the hostility you get but I'm above that to be quite honest," she said quite plainly. Sasuke broke away from her eyes, as if ashamed. Sakura felt a sudden pang of regret for saying that, the Sasuke that deserved this wasn't the type of person to be ashamed. He really had changed, she just wasn't sure what into. Her hand reached out involuntarily to his as if trying to sooth him, but she regulated it.

"You said you needed my help before. I'm willing to give it, but you have to promise to tell me everything," she said. Sasuke nodded lifting his head again, a small amount of his hard exterior coming back into place. "And never, I repeat never, are you allowed to do that to me ever again!" Sakura said poignantly, indicating to her neck where the bruise was no longer. Sasuke chuckled slightly and nodded again, looking up again to meet her gaze. Sakura tried to smile and found it easier than last time.

"Does Naruto come over often?" Sasuke asked. Sakura raised an eyebrow; it seemed to be her favourite reaction to his comments.

"That's not the truth Sasuke," she said, her smile disappearing instantly. Was she going to have to drag it out of him?

Sasuke simply smiled slightly, and shook his head. "It's a long story and I can only tell it to you. Naruto's interruptions aren't ideal," Sasuke said simply. Sakura glanced over to the clock on her night stand which read nine o'clock. If Naruto were coming round he would have pounded on her door almost three hours ago.

"I'm pretty confident he's not coming. He's on a mission anyway I think," she said with a nostalgic smile. It was not lost on Sasuke whose frown deepened. Sakura turned so she was facing him slightly, trying to appear open so he would feel comfortable disclosing his story. It was funny how her medical training that taught her how to be personable to patients would apply in this situation but it just did. Sasuke turned slightly also and took a deep breath as if to brace himself.

"I'm not sure how much you know Sakura, I don't want to patronise you by repeating things you know already," he said in a cautious voice. "You probably don't know Orochimaru is dead," Sasuke said trailing off again. Sakura however did know and most likely betrayed it on her face as Sasuke questioned her less than passive expression. "Did you know?" he pressed. Sakura nodded solemnly, she rolled up the sleeve on the left and turned round to show him the twisting tattoo that graced her bicep.

"My squad rounded up the last vestiges of Orochimaru's supporters. You're relatively legendary amongst the die harders, not in a positive way though mind," Sakura warned. Sasuke nodded and hnned in his usual manner.

"Was that why you were afraid of me to start? You know how he died? And what I'm capable of?" he asked without looking at her. Sakura grimaced slightly, it had to be said, though she hadn't admitted it to herself yet, that she had been afraid of him. On the surface she would have claimed that he was a traitor and needed to be treated with caution. That was only half of the truth; Sasuke had managed to eliminate a Sannin for crying out loud! So the other half of that said truth was blatantly obvious. She was absolutely no match for him, even in his weakened state. He'd always have his sharingan aswell as his incredible skill. It would have been plain stupid of her not to be on her guard around him, but she was finding it easier.

"You're stronger than I could have imagined..." Sakura said pensively. Her fingers still twiddled out of her control again until she saw and felt a cold hand placed on top of them.

"So are you," his voice drifted, pulling her from herself. Sakura looked up quickly to see Sasuke's face turned to hers, his eyes tearing across her face and burning into her own eyes. Her breath felt caught in her chest, unable to escape until the eye contact broke. She slipped her hand out of his and shifted uncomfortably, looking away in order to break the tension.

"You never did have very high expectations of me though," she said mater-of-factly. Sasuke carried on looking at her, surveying the new Sakura next to him.

"I'm sorry for that as well," he said sincerely. Sakura looked up the same time he did and for a moment she felt the same sense of camaraderie as the old days. Sasuke had played along with Naruto and her in order to humour then, those moments were fond to her in her pubescence and struck a chord now as well. Sakura smiled sincerely which spread to him infectiously. She had always had that kind of smile, impossible to deny.

Suddenly there was a loud rap on the door and both their heads snapped to the direction of the living room. Sasuke turned back to Sakura quickly, looking for an explanation.

"I'm not expecting anyone, I swear," she said earnestly. Sasuke stood and walked quickly into the living room, Sakura at his heels. They both stood stock still next to each other directly opposite the front door, both endeavouring to identify the chakra signature the opposite side of the door.

"I don't know it," Sasuke said in hushed tones. Sakura shook her head at her inability to trace it either; she got callers on her door all the time but suddenly Sasuke's edge made her jumpy too. She began to walk towards the door but Sasuke shot out his arm to block her. In a flash he had disappeared from her side and then a second later he was walking out of the kitchen, the katana bared and ready. Sakura felt a tingle down her spine and the adrenaline pumping through her, she looked at him exasperated and eyed the katana.

"What are you doing!" she whispered manically.

He ignored her question however and had his eyes locked on the door. He looked over at Sakura and his head cocked to the side, she took that as her indicator to open up the door. Hesitantly Sakura began to walk to the door; the person behind it would be getting impatient and might knock again. She only feared what Sasuke would do then, he was crazily alert. And what was with the weapon? Something did not smell right to Sakura so she tentatively headed to the door. As she passed Sasuke he placed his finger to his lips, indicating the need for silence. Sakura nodded curtly and walked with chakra infused silent feet to the front door. As she reached the door she felt Sasuke directly behind her and the slightest flash of light off the katana catch her eye. He reached around her and unlocked the door he had previously sealed for her own good. Sakura slowly opened the door open by an inch and peered through the gap to see who it was. Suddenly a high-heeled purple shoe wedged into the open space and pushed the door open quickly. Sakura reacted like lightning, recognising the shoe instantly and threw her arm around like lightning, pushing Sasuke up against the wall so he could hide behind the door. He made the slightest of noises at his overly forceful contact with the wall which made it shake a little. Sakura grinned the fakest smile she could in front of her friend.

"Uhhh...hi Ino," Sakura said shakily.

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So here's a chapter with a little more substance. Hope it didn't dissapoint. Please reviews :D and tell me what you think? Happy reading Love Kenners X


	7. Chapter 7 Damn those distractions

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters related to the manga. These belong to the wonderful Masashi Kishimoto-sensei! If I owned it, Kakashi-sensei could open up a portal to this dimension so all the characters could be real! SQEEEL! _

_Anyway enjoy Chapter 7 mina-san! *_Quick thanks to my regular reviewers (you know who you are) for keeping me motivated. :D*

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_"This is it,"_ Sakura thought. _"This is how l die."_ Sakura was starring into the round azul eyes of her best friend, wide like discs from what Sakura could only guess was confusion.

"Hi Ino..." she said sheepishly. Ino raised an eyebrow at her sceptically and peered past her into the apartment, obviously smelling a rat.

"Good morning Sakura," she said still spying the apartment. She went to walk inside but Sakura moved to the side slightly, blocking her entrance. Ino frowned at her and Sakura smiled again sheepishly. She was very aware those mere inches to her right Sasuke was hiding behind the door, pressed against the wall, probably barely breathing as to not give himself away.

"What you doing here Ino?" Sakura asked through slightly gritted teeth though still managing to sound pleasant. Ino tried to wedge her foot further into the apartment but Sakura was managing to subtly use her chakra infused strength to keep her heeled foot at bay. Sakura's shoulders were beginning to ache with how stiff she was, all her muscles contracted uncomfortably from the tension. The slightest wrong move would blow the entire operation, so to speak.

"It's your day off," Ino said plainly, more a statement than any thing. Still her meaning did not twig with Sakura and she looked at her friend confusedly. "We got to the tea shop of our Wednesdays off remember?" Ino said drawing out the last word for emphasis. She thought Sakura was being incredibly slow, so unlike her that it made a little red flag go up in the back of Ino's mind. Sakura suddenly realised that Ino was right, she pretty much always came by this time on a Wednesday. Sasuke's little trick and her sleeping for twenty four hours had totally thrown her bodily clock. She smiled weakly and reached her hand round the back of her head; she rested it on the back of her neck in the action Kakashi or Naruto sometimes did when they were apologising for something.

"You're right, I'm sorry I forgot," Sakura said as she pushed the door in slightly, forcing Ino's foot back a little.

"I came by yesterday too but there was no answer," Ino said with a slight accusation in her voice.

"Oh sorry...again," she laughed trying to lighten the mood. "I was sleeping... you know, long shift and everything," Sakura rambled. All the while, using the door as a shield, Sakura waved her fingers hidden behind the door at Sasuke. He looked at her gesturing with a confused expression.

"_What the hell was wrong with her fingers?!"_ Sasuke thought confusedly. He reached out and assuming she was shaking out of nervousness hegrasped her fingers in his so that her vibrating would not give them away. The moment his fingers caught hers Sakura gasped audibly and stifled a startled scream. There was a slight pause where they all stood stock still, Ino starring at Sakura with a bewildered expression and Sakura trying to put on a shaky smile. She would never have made it as an actress. Sakura decided diversion was the best tactic, she laughed a girly tinkling giggle,

"That's a nice outfit Ino," Sakura commented, making her voice lofty and girly. Ino smiled

instantly and looked down at her skirt and tank top admiringly. Sakura using the second Ino was appraising herself to snap her head to look round the door. His expression was blank but his eyes were wide and his whole body was stiff as a board. Sakura nodded her head to the side with an angry look, the interval given by Ino admiring herself was only seconds long on a particularly self-absorbed day. He nodded quickly and moved from behind the door in a flash.

Ino looked up from herself and despite her questions about her friend's strange behaviour, smiled brightly. "So, to the tea house then?"

"Yeah about that...." Sakura started as she moved to leave her apartment and shut the door

behind her. She felt Sasuke brush past her and she smiled, knowing that they were in the clear now. Sakura was just about to close the door completely when there was a colossal crash from inside the apartment. Sakura whirled around too look back into her apartment, no one visible so far. She couldn't turn back to Ino, she was still grasping at straws trying to find an explanation for the uproar inside. She was corrected, this was when she was going to die. Ino would have heard that commotion and would go barging into the apartment like the Spanish Inquisition. Wild horses wouldn't be able to stop her even if they wanted to. Sakura turned around with a defeated expression, expecting Ino to blaze straight past her momentarily. However Ino's expression was not what she had been expecting, instead of a disapproving frown and her arms folded across her chest, Ino's hands were clasped together and she had a smile so wide and sparkling eyes that she looked like a child on Christmas morning. Sakura smiled slightly, confused as to how she was going to react and braced herself.

"You have a man in there!" she said in an adolescent squeal unfitting a woman who was almost twenty years old. Sakura swore to Kami that she actually sweat-dropped at that moment, no joke. She laughed with trepidation and smiled guiltily. It wasn't exactly a lie.

_"Sure, why not,"_ she thought to herself. _"That'll do." _Sakura nodded and tried to look like she was embarrassed at being caught out. Ino smiled knowingly and winked at her before trying to peer into the apartment again. Sakura was one step ahead of her and stepped in her view path once again. Ino sighed in defeat and shrugged.

"Fine if you won't let me meet him," she said with mock disappointment. "It's probably a good thing, once look at me and he'd come to his senses" she said looking at Sakura with disgust, reaching forward to pull at her baggy sweatpants. "Seriously Sakura have I taught you nothing!" she exclaimed exasperated. Sakura laughed with relief and reached forward to pull her friend into a hug. Ino hugged back and tried to pull her hair out of its long ponytail at the same time. Sakura pushed her away playfully, relief washing over her now the danger of being discovered was past. Ino stuck her tongue out at Sakura and ambled off down the corridor, maybe to find Hinata and drag her to the tea house instead. Sakura smiled as her friend flounced down the corridor with her usual sway, she shook her head slightly and closed her door quickly. She thought about locking the door again, there had to be a good reason why Sasuke sealed them in there. Sasuke! Sakura was suddenly pulled from her Ino induced daze and turned around sharply and darted through to her bedroom where his yell had roughly sounded from. The room was empty and she felt a small prickle of panic run down her spine, nothing in the room seemed disturbed or indicated a struggle so she ruled out abduction. Suddenly though her eye caught something shiny, a piece of glass glinting on the floor. She looked around to see that the mirror hanging on the bedroom wall was shattered, all the pieces still stuck to the mirror unnaturally.

"Sasuke?" she called out questioningly, hiding the fear in her voice remarkably well.

"In the bathroom Sakura," his voice came from behind her. She turned around to see light spilling out of the open bathroom door across the corridor. Sakura sighed in relief and headed to the bathroom.

"You almost blew your mysterious little secret," Sakura called to him with an edge of irritation as she headed down the corridor, "Ino nearly bust down my door seeking you out..." she said with a hint of a smile in her voice. She turned into the bathroom to see both of Sasuke's palms shoved under running water; even blurred by the water she could see the skin was red and angry looking. The moment she saw his injury she was pulled into doctor mode instantaneously. She rushed over to the sink and pulled his hands out to look at them properly, the skin was burned horrendously. She pushed them under the water again and looked up at him. He however was starring down at his hands with a slight grimace, his expression perplexed and annoyed at the same time.

"What happened?" Sakura asked, her voice taking a tender tone unexpectedly. Sasuke shrugged slightly,

"Can't know for certain, I have a pretty good hunch though," he said cryptically. Sakura nodded, too preoccupied with his burns to be annoyed with the incomplete answer. She stopped the water and handed him a fluffy towel from the sideboard. He pressed it to his palms to soak up the blood now seeping through the blistered skin.

"Tell me about it as I heal them," Sakura said as she turned to leave. Sasuke, lost in his thoughts, did not follow her instantly and Sakura had to pull on his arm for him to snap out of it. He turned to look at her finally and her expression almost made him laugh. Her eyes were wide and her brow was furrowed with concern. Sasuke smiled slightly to reassure her but Sakura could tell it was forced; she resigned to dragging the truth out of him, finally! She pulled him gently and they walked through to the living room where they sat down on the couch. Sakura took the towel from in between Sasuke's hands and then placed it on top of her lap, then his hands on top of this. They weren't bleeding badly but he had to be in excruciating pain, he didn't show it at all. Sakura looked up at him again, but he was, again, not looking back. His thoughts were occupied it seemed. Sakura sighed at the idea of how laborious this would be, dragging information out of him. Stupid Ino for interrupting!

"Here's a deal. I'll heal your hands for you and you tell me the truth like you promised," Sakura proposed.

"That's blackmail," he said incredulously but with no hint of the smile Sakura had wanted out of him, he looked up at her instead with accusatory eyes and a hard frown. Sakura smiled devilishly and drew chakra to her hands, covering them with the familiar emerald hue. "I thought medics were supposed to be impartial to whom they heal," Sasuke said, Sakura's smile managing to relax him. He found his smile came more naturally though he still didn't feel comfortable with it, he hadn't truly smiled in years.

"Yes but ANBU are resourceful and cunning, using whatever is to their advantage," Sakura reasoned with coy smile, "So I'm an appropriate mix of the two" she said finally as she hushed in order to concentrate and begin the work on his hands. She pushed her chakra into his skin and assessed the damage; there wasn't any monumental damage, nothing affected his muscles thankfully but the reason behind the injury vexed Sakura. He hadn't offered an explanation for the burns and she saw no fire around him anywhere, but she was used to deducing the origin of injuries. She looked up at Sasuke who starred back at her passively. Even when void of emotion, Sasuke's eyes were always dazzling. The deepest of blues or the lightest of ebony, they were indecipherable, reflective of their owner. Sakura shook her head slightly, forcing herself to concentrate again. Sakura slipped her chakra into his chakra highway that ran down his fingers with expert ease. However to her great surprise she met some resistance at his wrists. There seemed to be some great block in his highway, something she had never heard of before. She tried to penetrate the block but it did not respond to her gentleness. Something a little stronger was needed obviously.

"This might be slightly uncomfortable for you," Sakura warned him. He nodded, seeming unscathed by her warning. Sakura took a steadying breath and with a grunt pushed her chakra against the block. She felt the barrier resists her again, so she pushed harder. The blockage was something she had never even heard of before, so different to any chakra blocking agent or jutsu she'd ever studied. She pushed harder, grinding her teeth with the effort and the pressure building in the highway. This seemed to be getting her nowhere so she pulled back and sighed heavily.

"You seem to have a blockage of chakra in the point in your wrist where the highways break off down your fingers," Sakura explained. Sasuke merely employed his usual response to anything, a hnnnn and said nothing else. He seemed not at all surprised or concerned by this, even though his hand could die from lack of chakra access. Deciding this was something she couldn't leave Sakura pulled her chakra back as if to give it a running start. She morphed the tips of her chakra "strings" flowing into his body as it were, into needle tips. She peeked an eye open slightly and looked up at him.

"Brace yourself," she said. He nodded sharply and though she wasn't certain it looked like he was gritting his teeth. Sakura took a deep breath and closed her eyes to picture the highways better. She shot the chakra needles deep into the barrier and they broke through instantly, shattering the barrier behind them. Sasuke gasped out a strangled sound of pain and he breathed heavily through gritted teeth. Sakura grimaced slightly and so she pulled her chakra back slowly and as gently as she could. "Sorry," she said gently as she turned his hands over to begin re-crafting his skin. He hnned again, this time the tiniest sound of pain leaked through.

"Do you have any idea how you managed this?" she asked looking up from her work momentarily. Sasuke closed his eye and sighed heavily.

"I didn't want to get you involved in this Sakura. This was my last resort," he said somberly. Sakura frowned slightly but said nothing, relieved to finally have him talking. "It all started when...."

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Oh aren't I horrible! Hehe. Please review lots and then I might just let the next chapter out that much quicker.


	8. Chapter 8 What we crave

Sorry for the ridiculously long time between updates, thats what happens when writers block sets in. But luckily its gone now and I have the holidays to work on it so I promise a few more chapters will be out majorly quickly. Review with feedback please :D

Want to say a quick thank you to users who have stuck with the story despite my erratic updates - Emptyspaces, Daenotsu, EmotionallyConstipated (what a name ;)) Love you all for the support XX

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Sakura held her breath in anticipation though not out of conscious choice. She physically couldn't breathe with the weight of the tension surrounding them, a spark of electricity in the air like before a big thunderstorm emanating like waves from the man beside her. Sasuke had opened his eye after sighing at the very moment she had looked up and their eyes had locked immediately. Sasuke starred straight back at her, his stare sending shocks through her like nothing or no one had ever done before.

"I didn't want to get you involved in this Sakura. This was my last resort," he said without looking away. Sakura wasn't even aware that she had stopped healing his hands from the distraction he was causing. Sasuke did notice however and did he not want to put her back on the defence he might have laughed at her quietly. He had this effect on most women, the kind of magnetic pull that mesmerised them. He wasn't egotistic in his assessment, it annoyed him more than anything which was why he had been so surprised that Sakura had seemed to be impervious to this. But now it was obvious that she had been trying to fight off that pull. It made sense now why she was so aggressive with him to start with. And now what he had to tell her would make her do the same all over again, the worst result being her expelling him from her life. He fought the impulse to sigh again, turned away from Sakura's penetrating gaze as to stare straight at the wall ahead of him and began.

"It all started when I... I guess...killed is the word I need to use," Sasuke said trying to ignore Sakura's flinch. "When I killed Orochimaru. I gathered a small force of strong shinobi and formed a team. We did things I'm not proud of Sakura and I hope you won't make me regale you with them," Sasuke said, his voice sounding tired, his defeated tone made Sakura sure that he would tell her if she pressed him. However Sakura was pretty sure she would survive not knowing his activities whilst he was AWOL and would probably sleep better for not knowing too. She surveyed Sasuke and his focus-less trance on the opposite wall. It was then that Sakura felt all her previous convictions fall apart, Sasuke being the bad guy, him being the traitor all the villagers portrayed him as. She should have known better than that, she had claimed to be in love with him at one point. How fickle and shallow had she been? Sakura practically flinched at the memory of her former self. She also flinched at the memory of herself only a few days ago. Scared of him, threatening him! She should have known better then too, the ordeal he'd gone through, the emotional strain that he had been put under. Neither Naruto nor she had really understood at the time, barely on the brink of puberty. She had been more concerned with winning his heart than knowing what was really going on inside it.

Sasuke slumped forward to rest his elbows on his knee in a heavy defeated motion; his head hung lower than before. He seemed to be faltering in his drive to carry on explaining and Sakura's response was automatic. She reached out her hand and placed it over the top of his gently. He turned slowly to look at her again, his eyes portraying perfectly how torn he was. Sakura tried to smile at him reassuringly but his eyes made her feel like a bad person for forcing the story out of him. His eyes were full of anguish and another emotion she couldn't quite peg. Was it remorse or maybe guilt? She didn't know but she decided that it was a demon that would consume him if he did not release it, she felt a small swell of happiness that she would be the person to do that for him.

"It's alright Sasuke," she said trying to put on her reassuring compassionate voice she had acquired in her medical years, though to Sakura it sounded wrong. Maybe the realness of the situation made it hard to detach herself, she knew deep down no matter how hard she tried she would always have a soft spot for the Uchiha. Sakura moved herself down the bed so that the length of her body was pressed against Sasuke, providing support in more than one sense if he needed it. "I promise I won't judge you ," she reassured. Sakura swore she saw his frown deepen, it that were at all possible, the lines it drew into his face seemed deep and aged him prematurely. He didn't look his twenty years at all in that moment. He had the weight of a sixty year old man on his shoulders.

"You might want to reserve that judgement until after I'm done," he said sombrely before taking a deep breath and continuing. "My team and I were eradicating the scars that he had left, starting in the Sound Country and then searching other regions for the die hard followers as you like to call them," Sasuke chided though the expletive under his breath was not lost on her. "Orochimaru's reach had extended far further than we had ever imagined," Sasuke continued with great effort. Sakura leant over and placed her other hand on Sasuke's shoulder reassuringly.

"It's alright Sasuke you don't have to explain anymore," Sakura said gently, seeing the toll it was taking on him. Sasuke shrugged off her hand which took her aback; she dropped the hand instantly, the ripples of a dulled ancient pain finding its way to the surface again but she merely smiled through it as she had become accustomed.

"I don't deserve your compassion," he said gravely. "You should be disgusted by me and my actions."

"That's not true," she said simply, so sure of her convictions. In all the years people in the village had whispered on about the traitor the Uchiha was, Sakura had not truly believed it. Not in her heart of hearts. Sure when he first arrived she had reacted like anyone else would have, shocked and defensive. But how else is a woman supposed to act when a mysterious man turns up on your front door after breaking their hearts so many years ago. Sakura wished she had acted differently in those first moments he returned to her life then maybe he would have trusted her a little more now. So many hours wasted imagining it, so many dreams spent perfecting the reunion. And she had wasted it by making him feel unwelcome. Well not anymore she decided. In the face of his previous, albeit minute rejection, Sakura ventured out again and placed her hand over his softly.

"You were trying to undo all the wrong he did, you're the good guy," Sakura said almost pleadingly. Sasuke merely scoffed,

"We'll agree to disagree here I guess," he said with a slight dark chuckle in his voice. "A few months down the line, we reached the Lightning Country where we discovered that Orochimaru had control of several officials higher up in the Raikage's council. Even though he was dead, his will was still in action, that's why we did what we had to. Their actions, whilst under the radar, were abominable. Orochimaru had set up several laboratories disguised as orphanages deep in the Lightning Country," Sasuke said quickly, his fists clenching ever so slightly as he continued. "It was arranged that children would be sent to these... "centres" if you like. If you've seen the inside of the Sound base, it doesn't require a great leap of deduction to understand their purpose," Sasuke said, disgust dripping from his voice.

"What happened?" Sakura's voice finally came back, perilously close to breaking.

"It's not good Sakura," he warned dropping his hand. Sakura steeled her nerves and braced herself for whatever was coming; she nodded sharply indicating him to continue, not fully trusting her voice.

"Orochimaru's scientists were manipulating their bodies, experimenting with Kekeigenkai to create the perfect body. The perfect shell..." Sasuke broke off there, seemingly unable to continue. "We killed people, the diehard followers as you called them, of Orochimaru. We destroyed them and their work. All those who were carrying on with his "projects," he said, spitting out the last word like it was made of acid. Sakura merely nodded, she was no stranger to death. But try as she might she kept picturing the childrens' faces and a deep chill ran through her. Sasuke saw her shiver and sighed deeply, standing slowly. Sakura's eyes followed him as he walked away from her, purposefully putting distance between them as he leant against the wall in with his arms crossed, his usual laid back yet guarded manner.

"I saw that," he said gruffly. Sakura kept her eyes on him, meeting his stare.

"Saw what?" she asked.

"Your shiver. I told you before, you should be disgusted by me. Glad to see you finally understand. I don't deserve your welcome, why do you think people call me a traitor?" he said with a hint of aggression. Sakura stood swiftly and walked right back up to him, less than a few steps away.

"I wasn't judging you!" she said defensively.

"Then you obviously don't understand," he said turning his gaze away. Sakura however cut him off and moved round in a flash to stare him down.

"You think I don't get it? I'm sure you still think I'm still that starry eyed kid who thinks you can do no wrong," she said, her eyes penetrating and captivating his. "Well you're wrong.... I understand. I understand better than most that you were faced with something that no shinobi should ever have to be, taking responsibility for the lives you effect. I've seen it Sasuke..."

"I've killed hundreds of children Sakura!" he yelled. Sakura did not react to his words; she merely breathed, remained still and starred into his eyes unwavering. He stared at her incredulously, how could she stand there so passively? Did she understand and still not care or was there something he wasn't seeing? Her face gave nothing away, she just watched him flounder in confusion. Enraged he darted forward and grabbed her upper arms,

"Stop being so accepting!" he yelled at her, causing her to flinch back slightly from the force of his speech. "I'm an apathetic killer! All I can do is eradicate life!" He starred at her, his eyes wide, the deep purple circles underneath them more prominent suddenly.

"You're not!" she yelled back finally meeting his match. Suddenly Sakura saw his eyes flash red and then everything around her fell away. She no longer felt Sasuke's grasp on her arms, no longer felt the hardwood floor beneath her bear feet. Suddenly colour burst around her, an explosion of darkness and huge flames around her. She found herself stood in a vast dark smoky courtyard with high walls all around her, the dryness of the air burning her throat and eyes. A rancid stench struck Sakura and she clamped her hand over her mouth to keep from vomiting. She looked around quickly, panic and fear bubbling up inside of her while she tried to ascertain where she was. She turned quickly and suddenly a wave of heat knocked her back off her feet and to the wet ground. She threw up her hands to guard her from the heat of the flames which she could now see were frenziedly consuming the enormous building before her. The billowing smoke twisted violently and Sakura starred at the hypnotic flames, barely hearing the screams erupting from inside. Then something caught her eye, a dark figure walking towards her from out of the building, the smoke whipping around them menacingly blurring their face.

Suddenly flashing images ripped through and immobilised her. Memories running wild through her mind, the faces of petrified children, the hundreds upon hundreds of jars of indistinguishable things floating in formaldehyde which burnt your throat as you inhaled the horrific flashes of images of the torture chambers in the Sound lair. Her own memories bit back at her bitterly and Sakura was suddenly transported back, back almost twelve months to the mission, the only mission that hade ever trully scarred her. She was once again walking down the dank corridors, the sounds of her footsteps echoing off the weeping walls. Flashing images crashed over her and the chill of the cells crept up her skin, nausea doing the same to her stomach. Sakura didn't even realise that she was shaking until she found it hard to breath. All the time the figure was moving towards her through the smoke screen and his face was almost visible. In a sudden act of desperate panic, a plea to make it stop Sakura tried to pull chakra to her hands, failing to get a grasp on anything from inside her. She starred forward, seeing the figure almost upon her and panic rising up inside of her and she thrust her hands up one final time with a scream of panic. Instantly everything around her vanished, the blistering heat replaced with a light breeze tickling her exposed cheek and the air smelt clean once more. Suddenly she felt a cool and light pressure on her cheek, the feel of rough, calloused skin against hers brought her back from her nightmare. She gasped and lurched forward, feeling her chest heave and hyperventilating from shook her head slightly, still not fully in control of her body. Sasuke starred at her for a few moments and then dropped his gaze as he loosened his grip on her; if he had hurt her she never let on. Sakura let her legs slacken beneath her and she slid down the wall with her shoulder for support, her head hanging low trying to regain her breath. He followed her gently down, keeping his grasp on her just in case.

"Sakura," he said gently. The sound of his voice rang through her and she finally breathed deeply before coming back to herself fully. She lifted her head weakly and looked up at him starring at her with what she deduced was a worried expression. His face didn't accommodate worry well, his usually stoic brows not used to creasing and it looked strange on him. The odd details she noticed almost made her smile in amusement but this time it did not feel funny.

"You are never to use that on me again," she said in a husky voice that served her threat well. He bowed his head, now further ashamed of himself than before if that was even possible. Suddenly he felt a quivering yet warm hand beneath his chin, gently directing his face up and with no warning Sakura leant in and kissed him. Sasuke was frozen, feeling her soft lips pressed against his yet being stunned beyond reciprocation. She pulled back slowly and looked him in the face,

"If that shuts you up for long enough, you might want to listen to what I know about you," she said quite bluntly. "When my squad discovered Orochimaru's lair we discovered a few survivors left behind to die. One of those included a young child no older than seven," she managed with a still shaky voice. "She managed to tell us she survived the Lightning Country and that she wished she hadn't." Sakura paused for a moment, the memory of her stinging.

"He mutated those children within an inch of their lives," she said. "We had to quite literally put the girl euthanize the girl out of mercy, she was just..." Sakura said, shivering violently from the memory before not being able to say any more. Sakura looked up at him again,

"You saved those children from an abominable life," she insisted. "So stop blaming yourself. You're not a monster," she said raising her hand up to his cheek serenely. Sasuke sighed again and leant in to lean on the wall, exhaustion obvious in his tired eyes. Sakura leant in carefully, trying not to drive him away and rested her forehead against his. His eyes were closed but still worried looking. Her voice drifted over as her sweet breath warmed his cold face,

"They forgive you," she said. His eyes opened suddenly, his brows stitched in the middle and his whole body rigid suddenly. Sakura had the faintest smile on her lips and her face was a picture of serenity. She remembered the little girl's last words, the ones she had just given back to him like she ad promised. And it was then when the tortured look fell away from Sasuke's face into a peaceful half-smile did Sakura realise that that was what he had needed all along. Not judgement or repulsion like he had been searching for form her, but forgiveness. To be released from the guilty he felt; it was then that Sakura knew he was back. Well and truly returned from the dark place he had run away to for so many years. Sasuke closed his eyes again and sighed, a half laugh half stifled sob breaking away as well. He leant forward and leant his head against Sakura's shoulder, perfectly comfortable for them both.

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Please review :D Kenners


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